Arts and Labor

In this week’s art events at the L Magazine: more John Cage, sound art takes Manhattan by storm, and some art critics have hearts. You’ll find them among Arts and Labor’s panel at Housing Works Thursday evening.

A little extracurricular reading has introduced us to Lucy Lippard’s essay “The Art Workers Coalition: Not a History.” First published in 1970 by Studio International, the piece feels strangely familiar in light of Occupy’s work. As it happens, their Arts and Labor group uploaded the full PDF to their site, so the essay can be read in its entirety.

We’ve excerpted a quote after the jump we felt was particularly relevant. History repeats itself.

This morning, Artinfo reports two protests staged against the Whitney Biennial, which opens to the public on Thursday. Firstly, the OWS Arts and Labor group has sent a letter calling for the end of the Biennial in 2014, indicating that it “upholds a system that benefits collectors, trustees, and corporations at the expense of art workers.” Then a credible press release was sent out under the museum’s name and logo, announcing a break with two of its sponsors — Sotheby’s and Deutsche Bank — the morning of the press preview.